The Mysterious Red Figure
by Nefery-chan
Summary: Surprisely, Santa Claus isn't an old man. He is a dashing, young man dress in red, traveling around the world, placing presents under Christmas trees for those on the nice list. Who is this young man in red? What happens when he meets a sweet, young girl during his travels? Rated T just for safety measures.
1. Chapter 1

~Author's Notes~

Bonjour! Joyeux Noël! How is everyone's Christmas? Well, mine's been pretty well except I got sick on Christmas Eve. I know, it really stinks, but Of course, it could've been worst.

Anyway enough blabbing, I just wanted to post up a Christmas special for you guys (those who are reading this) because I haven't been working on my other story. Also, just for your guys info, I'm not dropping the story. I feel awful if I start something and never finish it. Though, it might take me a while due to my lame laziness. . Okay, guys, I'm going to stop talking now (or typing) and let you guys enjoy the story.

_Italics_ are sound words.

Dialogue are in these " " (quotations) marks.

Depending the situation, thoughts are in these ' ' marks.

Credit for editing to Lady Frederic.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Tales of Vesperia or the game. If I do, it wouldn't be awesome.

* * *

On a snowy night in the dead of winter, a shadowy figure in a red sleigh landed on a magnificent, huge, and decorated mansion. _Clank! Clank! Clank!_ "Whoa!" the shadowy figure yelled and stepped out of the sleigh. Under the moonlights, the shadowy figure revealed himself to be a young man in a red suit. "Ho! Ho! Ho! Let's see… Who gets a present in this gorgeous house?" The young man went over to his sled and rummaged through it. "Nope, this isn't it." _Crash!_ After a moment of searching through his sled the figure in red found what he was looking for. "Ah, here it is!" The young man pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. _Plop!_The rest of the scroll fell to his feet. "Now, let's see… 483 Vesperia Street… 483 Vesperia Street, 483 Vesper…" On the list, right next to the address was the name 'Estellise Sidos Heurassein'. "My, what a nice long name," the young man remarked. "Well, standing here won't get any presents delivered, so I might as well get to work." The young man rolled the list back up and stuffed it into his pocket, walking towards the chimney. He climbed on top of it, sitting, and said, "Alright, let's do this!" He breathed in and pushed himself down into the chimney. After a few seconds a crash shook the house below. "Ugh! I still can't believe I'm not used to this! Man, I've been doing this for, like, two years already!" The young man got up, but didn't give a care to brush the soot off his clothes. "Well, whatever," the young man said, shrugging. "Might as well get to work on those presents." His eyes scanned the room, looking for the Christmas tree and he found it.

It was the most beautiful and perfect Christmas tree he had ever seen on all his travels. Not only that, the Christmas tree was placed in the center of the room, shining so brightly with all unique ornaments and lights. "Alright, let's get this show on the road." He dropped the red sack he was carrying and untied the golden knot. Reaching inside the sack, he pulled out a large present. It was wrapped with pink wrapping paper with golden snowflakes on it. "One for the lady," the young man said with a chuckle before putting it under the tree. After setting the gift under the tree, the man suddenly heard a creak. He knew that the sound was made by someone stepping on the worn wood of the stairs, just visible in the next room over. Slowly, the young man turned his head to the left, and there, over by the doorway, stood a girl of about eighteen with short, pink hair, in her pale pink nightgown.

"Are you Santa Claus?" whispered the girl. In the young man's mind, he was  
thinking, 'Man, she's really cute.'

"Well, yes. But you can call me Yuri," Yuri said with a smile.

"Really?! I thought Santa Claus would be a lot older," the young girl replied with a confused look.

"Oh, you must be talking about my old man," Yuri answered. "By the way, what's your name?" Yuri asked.

"It's Estellise Sidos Heurassein, sir," Estellise Sidos Heurassein replied, telling the stranger her whole name.

"Oh! So you're Estellise Sidos Heurassein!" Yuri exclaimed. "You can drop the sir. Just call me Yuri," Yuri stated. "By the way, you have a nice name and all, but it's a little too long for me. Could I just call you Estelle instead?" the young man asked.

"Oh! A nickname?! No one's ever made a nickname for me before!" The girl was beaming brightly. "You may call me that, um, Yuri, right?" Yuri nodded. "Oh! I almost forgot! Wait right here!" Estelle yelled, before rushing out of the room and down the hallway.

"Huh…? What's gotten into her?" Yuri inquired aloud, crossing his arms. Before he knew it, Estelle came running back with a plate full of cookies. Slowing to a stop in front of Yuri, and panting slightly, the girl spoke.

"I almost forgot these cookies I baked for you." Lifting up the plate to Yuri, he could see it was full of different shapes and color of cookies.

"Um, sweet!" Yuri said before picking up a red wreath-shaped sugar cookie. Taking a bite out of it, he munched slowly, and after a few moments of silence, Yuri's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Wow! These are amazing!" Yuri exclaimed.

"Really?! Thank you so much, Yuri!" Estelle replied, titling her head to one side and smiling. Yuri, seeing her sweet face, blushed a little bit and tried to cover his face by pulling down his Santa hat an inch or two.

"Well, you're welcome," Yuri said before crossing his arms almost like he was pouting. _Gong! Gong!_The hour hand on the father clock in the room the couple was in struck twelve. Yuri, looking at the clock, realized it was midnight, and knew he still had a whole sack of presents to deliver to those well-behaved children. Those children would be so disappointed if they didn't get their presents on the morning of Christmas, and Yuri would not like that at all. "Well, my lady, I should now take my leave." Yuri gave her a curt bow.

"It's Estelle," the girl corrected him, before giving him a serious face.

"Well, Estelle, I need to go now. So… bye." Yuri began walking towards the chimney, but was stopped by the girl's sudden shout.

"Would you… would you visit me?!" Estelle asked. Yuri halted in his tracks and turned around to face the girl.

"Sure."

"Promise?"

"Ah…" Yuri began.

"Promise?!" the pink haired girl pleaded. Yuri gave a quick glance to Estelle's face and noticed she was a little sad. Yuri didn't like to see people being sad, so he gave in to the girl.

"Promise…" he said with a sigh. Then, before Estelle could say anything else, Yuri disappeared up the chimney. Estelle ran to the nearest window to see Yuri or 'Santa Claus' leaving in his sleigh. There he was, in the most beautiful sleigh she could ever imagine, all decorated with green, red, and gold. Eight reindeer were leading his sleigh and the first one had a bright red light surrounding its nose. When Estelle strained her ears, she could hear bells ringing from the sleigh. For some reason, her arm started to move, almost on its own, and before she knew it, she was waving. Meanwhile, on the sleigh, Yuri was trying to focus on what was in front of him. But, then his eyes glanced at the window of 483 Vesperia Street, and, to his surprise, he saw the girl waving at him. He waved back with a smile, and in the window Estelle saw Yuri return her gesture, and in response, she waved back even faster, smiling.

* * *

~Author's Notes~

I just wanted to make this clear, this isn't the end of the story. Part 2 will be posted up later in the day.

Thank you for reading the story (so far)! I really appreciate it! :3 Until next time, à tout à l'heure!


	2. Chapter 2

~Authore's Notes~

Alright, here's Part 2 or the Final Part if you must say. I stayed up to about 11:30ish to post this. I hope you guys enjoy the story! :3

Dialogue are in these " " (quotations) marks.

Thoughts (depends on the situtation) are in these ' ' marks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Vesperia in any way. If I do there will be no Christmas? o.o

* * *

Five years passed after that fateful meeting. Every Christmas during those years, Estelle would wake up before midnight to see 'Santa Claus'; but every time she got up, she would somehow miss him. She knew this because her present would already be placed under the Christmas tree. Today would be the last time, though, for Estelle to see 'Santa Claus'. After this, she would just give up and sleep in until Christmas morning. Her alarm clock rang, and, raising her hand, she turned it off. The girl sat up in her bed and turned to see the clock, reading it out loud. "Urgh… It's eleven o'clock?" Rubbing her eyes, the time and its importance became clearer. "Oh! It's already eleven! I need to get ready for Santa!" She yawned and swung her legs over her bed and into her pink panda slippers. Estelle ran over to the dresser, looked in her mirror, and smiled. Then, she skipped to the bathroom humming "Jingle Bells", and picked up her toothbrush, merrily brushing her teeth and combing her hair. After doing so, she tip-toed to the living room and gazed around the room, noticing something—there were no presents under the tree! Estelle smiled and then whispered, "Yay! So I haven't missed 'Santa' yet!" But then, the girl frowned. "Or… maybe I've been naughty and don't deserve a present…" After thinking that scary thought, the girl heard a laugh coming from the Christmas tree.

"Silly girl, of course you deserve a present," a voice chuckled. "You've been a good girl since we met," the voice continued. Estelle was thinking wildly, though, wondering why her Christmas tree was talking. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember which person it belonged to. As if the voice read her mind, it said, "Man, you're really dense or something." Out from behind the tree, a young man in a red suit stepped.

"Santa!" Estelle yelled. However, as she attempted to walk over to 'Santa', the girl was stopped by a finger.

"No, no, no," the young man complained. "That's Yuri to you." He put a hand on either hip and kept speaking, saying, "I can't believe you've forgotten me, even though I promised to visit."

"Oh, I didn't forget that promise, but I just couldn't recognize you behind the tree," Estelle said with a sweet smile. Yuri rolled his eyes, but decided to change the subject.

"So, how have you been over these past five years?" Yuri asked.

"I've been good. But why haven't you stopped by to see me?" Estelle replied.

"I… did. But…" Yuri paused. Estelle looked him in the eyes, searching for an answer. Yuri noticed and looked away. "I did visit you. I'm just not allowed to see you," Yuri mumbled.

"Huh? Why not?" Estelle asked, tilting her head to one side.

"I was almost late delivering the last present and I was seen by you," Yuri replied.

"Were you not supposed to be seen by me?" Estelle inquired with a frown.

"My old man forbids me from being seen by anyone. It's a law that came with delivering the presents. So, my punishment was to visit your house earlier without seeing you and to get my delivery done earlier than I usually do." Yuri continued, "You wouldn't know how hard it is to deliver all these presents in time and now I have to get them done earlier," Yuri complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Estelle mumbled, looking down. Yuri gazed at her and felt bad for making her sad.

Giving a sigh, Yuri said, "It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself." Looking away, he added, "Anyway, I decided to be late, so it's my fault." Estelle gazed at Yuri, wondering if he was telling the truth, but then noticed something. Yuri's cheeks were a light pink—and then it hit her. Yuri must've been cold, delivering all those presents at night.

"Wait right here, please!" Estelle exclaimed. She ran off to the entrance of the living room and down the hall leading to the kitchen. Yuri was left behind with a confused look. About thirty minutes passed, and Yuri took to sitting on the sofa. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from the hallway, and the man stood, seeing Estelle running towards him with a tray laden with goodies.

"Hey! If you keep running down the hallway, you're gonna—" Before Yuri could finish his sentence, Estelle slipped. In that moment, Yuri rushed over to the girl, who had her eyes closed, waiting for impact. After several seconds passed by, and she knew she must've fallen; the girl soon became irritated by the ticking of the clock, though. She opened her eyes and, to her surprise, she found herself in Yuri's arm, and in his free hand was the tray. "Are you okay?" Yuri asked. The girl blushed suddenly and answered.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you…"

Yuri let her go and said, "Next time, don't run down the hall with slippers."

"I won't," Estelle mumbled.

Yuri sighed, asking, "Is this hot chocolate and cookies on the tray?"

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot!" Estelle exclaimed. She picked up a cup of hot cocoa and held it out to Yuri. "Would you mind trying this?" Estelle asked. Yuri was surprised by Estelle's swift recovery, but put that thought in the back of his mind, taking the cup and drinking a sip. Estelle waited anxiously to see if Yuri liked her hot chocolate. A few silent seconds passed by, and Estelle started to think her hot chocolate must be horrible, if it made Yuri that speechless and kept him quiet, so he wouldn't say anything mean.

"This… is…" Estelle couldn't take it, how sure she was of his dislike for her drink. "Delicious!" The young man began drinking the whole cup eagerly.

"Really?!" Estelle asked excitedly. "It's that good?!"

"Hm? Yeah, it's good," Yuri replied. "What did you think I was going to say?" Yuri asked with curiosity.

"Uh… That it was horrible…" Estelle whispered.

"Well, it's not; but this hot cocoa tastes different from other hot cocoa I've had," Yuri said. "It's more berry flavored… what did you put in this?"

"Hmmm…" Estelle mumbled, thinking about what she had put in the hot cocoa. "Oh, yeah! I remember. I think I put marshmallows, chocolate, milk, and…" Estelle stopped to think about the final ingredients. Yuri looked at Estelle, wondering what the last ingredient was. He knew it must have been some kind of berry, since there was a sweet berry taste in the drink. "Oh, it's strawberries!" Estelle exclaimed.

"Strawberries…?" Yuri said.

"You don't like strawberries?" Estelle asked with a sad look.

"Of course I do. I just didn't think strawberries could be in hot chocolate—that's all. Anyway, enough of this chit-chat; I want to show you something." Yuri took Estelle's hand and led her up the chimney. On top of the roof, the girl saw the most beautiful view ever. She could see for miles and miles, the whole town covered in snow and Christmas decorations. There were so many colors and the town was sparkling vividly. "So, this beats staring through a window, right?" Yuri asked.

"Yes," Estelle answered. "It does." A smile was slowly appearing on her face, but suddenly something furry nuzzled her cheeks. "Wah!" Estelle shrieked.

"Oops, sorry," Yuri apologized. "That was one of my reindeer." Estelle turned around and saw a furry reindeer with a bright red nose. 'Oh! Wow! It's a reindeer! It has a red nose, too! It's so cute!' the girl thought to herself. Estelle pets the reindeer's head and, in return, it licked her cheek. 'Kawaii!' Estelle thought. Then, Estelle heard bells jingling behind the reindeer. She tilted her head to the side and gasped. There were eight more reindeer behind the one standing next to her.

"Wow! Are these the reindeer that pull your sleigh?" Estelle asked, turning to Yuri.

"Yeah, that's right," Yuri replied. "What? Did you think that I just flew around with a big red sack over my shoulder?" Yuri teased.

"No. I've just never seen real reindeer before. What are their names?" Estelle questioned.

"Huh?"

"The reindeer… could you tell me their names?"

"Oh. The one with the red nose next to you is Rudolf. The others are Cupid, Vixen, Dasher, Donner, Prancer, Blitzen, Dancer, and Comet," Yuri replied.

"Those are nice names," Estelle commented with a smile.

"Yeah, my old man named them," Yuri said. Suddenly, bells jingled, and above them, Yuri and Estelle could see Rudolph holding a mistletoe. "Hey! Where did you get that, Rudolph?" Yuri asked. Estelle realized what the mistletoe meant and blushed. "Sorry about that. You can ignore Rudolph and the mistletoe," Yuri said.

"Uh… um…" Estelle mumbled. Then, the girl leaned over and kissed Yuri on the lips. Yuri's eyes widened, surprised Estelle would do that. Estelle pulled away and blushed like crazy. "I… didn't kiss you because of the mistletoe," Estelle stated.

"Then why?" Yuri asked, confused.

"Well, I heard that if you kiss someone at midnight, then they never ever will be lonely again."

"I've never heard of that rumor before," Yuri commented.

"Well, I just didn't want you to be lonely," Estelle said.

"It seems more like an excuse, but thanks anyway," Yuri said with a smile. Then, Yuri pulled Estelle closer to him. At this sudden action, Estelle turned red and tried to hide it. Yuri laughed at how Estelle was hiding her face in his chest, and the girl looked up and smiled at Yuri. Then, both Yuri and Estelle waited and watched the sun rise on Christmas morning.

* * *

~Author's Notes~

Thank you for reading this, minna-san! X3 Hope you guys read more of my work and stick to it until the end. Also, criticism is definitely appreciated. Until next time, sayounara!


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